Skirt and shirt-waist holder.



0. LISTEPHENSON. SKIRT AND SHIRT WAIST HOLDER.

PATBNTED MAY 5, 1903. I

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 26, 1902.

H0 IODEL.

' INVENTQR lffTORNEXfi wrmesses r' Nunms wzrsas no. Punrouma. WASHINGJON. n. c.

Patented. May 5, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

CLEMENT L. STEPHENSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SKIRT AND SHIRT-WAIST HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 727,479, dated May 5, 1903.

Application filed September 25,1902. Serial No. 124,862. (No model.)

T0 on whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLEMENT L. STEPHEN- SON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of New York, county of New York, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVaist-Belt Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to that class of waist-belt devices which employ a concealed waist-belt adapted to hold the shirt-waist and skirt in their proper relations and positions.

The object of my invention is to provide such a waist-belt with a construction of front buckle or holding device as will be convenient in use, simple in construction, and economical of manufacture.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front view of a waist-belt provided with my improvement and indicating in a general way its position when in use. Fig. 2 isarear view, drawn on a larger scale, showing the holder or buckle detached. Fig. 3 is a sectional View on the line 3 3, Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a view of a modification.

In Fig. 1 I'have shown my invention as combined with the construction of waist-belt attachment for which I have obtained United States Letters Patent No. 631,594, dated August 22, 1899. In this figure, O is the flexible belt, which is threaded through or otherwise carries the several plates A A A carrying sharpened hooks 17, those on one of the plates being projected toward the inner face of the belt,-while those on the other two plates project toward the outer face, and those on one face projecting downward, while those on the other project upward, so as to provide at the back of the shirt-waist and skirt an effective means for holding the two together at that point. My present invention has special relation to the construction of a buckle at the front, where the free ends of the flexible belt are to be connected together, the purpose of my improvement being to so construct the buckle that, first, the belt will always remain concealed under the skirt, and,secondly, that where desired it may be employed to aid in holding down the skirt in front to produce the long-waist effect.

I provide for attachment to the free front ends of the waist-belt a device in the form of a buckle of peculiar construction. As shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the plate D of this buckle has secured to its lower edge, preferably in the form of a hinge, one or more (preferably a pair of) long sharp prongs E, whose normal position is to project upwardly at the back of the plate, as illustrated in full lines in the drawings, but so that the prongs can swing on their hinge (see dotted lines, Fig. 3) to give a certain amount of freedom of motion to the buckle and to facilitate the application of the buckle to its position in use. At the top of the buckle-plate D and on the side opposite that on which the prongs E are used I preferably provide a downwardly-projecting hook F. The buckle-plate D may be provided with tongues and loops of any suitable construction for attachment to the ends of the belt on both edges, as shown at d d in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or on one edge only, as shown at d in Fig. at. In the latter case the other end of the belt may be slotted, as at e, for attachment of the corresponding belt end.

The belt is applied around the waist under the outer skirt and the prongsE are inserted in an upwardly direction at the desired point into the inner skirt G, Fig. 3, preferably so that the ends of the prongs will find support against the lower edge of the corset. At the same time the ends of the belt are secured by the front buckle D. By this means the front part of the belt is always held down in position, so that it cannot creep up and show over the waist-band of the outer skirt. If it is desired to use this same buckle to hold down the front of the waist-band of the outerskirt to produce a long-waist effect, the hook F is brought into use by simply drawing the waist-band of such outer skirt H, Fig. 3, under the hook, as will be understood. In Fig. 3, J indicates the shirt-waist.

A feature of my buckle-plate D is that I make its sides Where the connections with the flexible belt occur inclined, as shown in the drawings, instead of parallel to each other, as has heretofore been customary, and this inclination is such as to be practically at right angles to the lines of the respective ends of the belt as they are carried down toward the desired point to produce a long-waist effect. In plates in which the edges or points of connection with the belt are parallel to each other there is the objection that the belt is drawn into puckers.

I claim as my invention- 1. A concealed skirt and waist holding belt, provided with a front buckle for attachment to the ends of the belt, said buckle having on its inner face a prong hinged to its lower part and projecting upwardly, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A concealed skirt and Waist holding belt, provided with a front buckle having on one face an upwardly-projecting prong and at its opposite edges means for attaching the ends of the belt, said means being inclined outwardly from the upper toward the lower part CLEMENT L." STEPHENSON.

Witnesses:

GEO. E. MINER, HUBERT HowsoN. 

